[ 13° ] 



of time to the celebrated manufcripts of the Gofpels of the firft 

 clafs ; and they may be reduced to thefe two : 



First. That the letters of this manufcript are in general 

 more curved than thofe of the aforefaid, in which the ftrokes 

 are for the moft part redlilineal ; and therefore that this manu- 

 fcript is lefs ancient. 



Secondly. That there are fome letters in it which have 

 forms that may be obferved in certain fpecimens of the feventh 

 century. 



I READILY allow that the moft ancient forms of the Greek 

 letters were compofed of right lines, for this conclufion will 

 force itfelf upon us, whether we confult our reafon or our expe- 

 rience. The firft writing was upon hard fubftances, and on fuch 

 the right line is moft eafily formed ; The firft writing then muft 

 have confifted of letters that were redilineal, and confequently 

 muft be angular and not curved. And on the moft ancient 

 monuments of Greece, for example, the Amyclaan infcription, 

 every letter is compofed of right lines (fee Mr. Ajile, Tab. II.) 

 and no letter occurs that is curved. And this cannot be con- 

 fidered merely as a neceflary effedl from the nature of the fub- 

 ftance on which this infcription is written ; becaufe in after 

 times, on the fame fubftances, the very fame letters are formed 

 of curve lines. We muft therefore confider it as arifing 

 from this circumftance ; that in that early period the Greek 

 alphabet was entirely compofed of re(5lilineal letters ; and this 



again 



